New Indian Monitoring System Detects 1000s of Environmental Violations Every Day

A new online monitoring system automatically detects several thousand breaches of environmental law on a daily basis, according to Prakash Javadekar, the Minister for the Environment.

The system works via an extensive network of sensors across the country, which pick up on excessive levels of pollution and automatically report the transgression to the relevant authority. In this manner, the Indian government hopes to fight the air pollution that has been threatening to spiral out of control in many of its cities.

Stemming the Flow

Along with neighbouring China, India has recently endured a reputation as one of the most polluting countries on the planet. Indeed, while Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh may all suffer from poorer quality air, India’s greater population and booming industry means that it spits out far more toxic fumes than any of these smaller nations. This unfavourable accolade has led to a number of measures being implemented by the Indian government, including an attempt to reduce congestion and force dirtier vehicles off the road.

However, a large part of combating the problem must come from fully understanding it. To achieve this, the country requires a full network of air monitoring equipment to be installed at all major power plants and factories, as well as throughout urban areas. Given the elevated temperature and humidity levels in the Indian subcontinent, implementing such a network involves a unique set of challenges and difficulties, which have made the process somewhat problematic.

However, in January, New Delhi launched its own Air Quality Index (AQI) and by the end of March, the government expects 2,280 industrial locations to be equipped with air monitoring equipment which will operate around the clock and deliver real-time updates to the authorities. That’s roughly double the amount of monitoring systems that were in place at the beginning of the month, making Minister Javakedar’s target an ambitious one.

24/7 Monitoring

The new systems are placed at the chimneys of power plants and at the effluent discharge points of wastewater treatment facilities, relaying information every 15 minutes.

In addition to informing the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Climate Change (MoEFCC), the system will also update the State Pollution Control Board and the Central Pollution Control Board, as well as sending an SMS message to the company implicated. Among other contaminants, it will monitor for sulphur dioxide (SO2), particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) and carbon monoxide (CO).

As yet, the notifications are not enough for the government to press charges against the offending company – but Minister Javadekar intends to change all that in the imminent future. “Since the online data is presently not legally accepted as evidence, we will soon move for an amendment,” he explained.

To date, 321 different firms have been shut down due to environmental transgressions. With the new system apparently detecting thousands more on a daily basis, that figure is surely certain to skyrocket in the coming year.